Bottle-crate.



A. L. FOREMAN.

BOTTLE CRATE. A'PPLIDATIOH FILED an. a. 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Patented Mar. 16, 1909.

A. L. FOREMAN.

BOTTLE CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. 8, 1907.

Patented Mar. 16, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

daniy st sle titions formedthereinto provide a separate scram Rhi ladel' his:j'lfferinsylvania, have nvented certain m rovefnents in Bottle-,Crates, of which,thefb1lpwing is a specification. -My invent on relates to that class of bottle- 1 boxes which have the bottom and cross partitions formed of wire, the object of my invention being to provide a tray. or boxofthis typevwhich, while superior immaliyrejsppcts. to previous boxes of the type with which I am familiar, can be more readily and cheaply manufactured.

,Inthe accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of a bottle carrying tray or box'(hereinafter, for convenience, termed a box) made in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section, and

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view on the line o -o, Fig. 3. V

The box is composed of op osite ends 1 and 2, and opposite sides 3 an 4 which will usually be composed of wood, although some of the features of my invention are ap licable to boxes com Josed of sheet meta The sides 3 and 4 of the box fit between the ends 1 and 2 of the same for a purpose hereinafter set forth, and the opposite ends of the box are rovided with the usual hand holes 5 to faci itate the carrying of the same.

The :bottom o fthe box and the cross parcompartment for each bottle are composed of wire, laced back and forth between the ends or sides of the box and maintained under constant tension in order that smaller wires may be available for the purpose, as against the much larger wires required when mere bulk is relied upon to resist thestrain.

The bottom of the box is composed of a single wire 6, which, starting at one corner of the box, say at the corner m, is suitably secured at that point, this result being attained in the present instance by driving the pointed end of the wire into the end of the box, as shown in Fig. 4, and additionally se curing the same to the end of the box by means of a staple 7 inclosing the wire, as also shown in said figure. The wire is then laced back and forth through properly located openings in the opposite ends of the box and is secured at its opposite end in like manner to the starting end, those portions of the wire which ex end from opening to opening 5 l will, on E mamas-onus,

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the openings before the a asters-NT OFFICE.

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Patented'llalch 18, 1909.

at each end of the box being, b preterenc e, contained in a ,groovefi, forme 1n said ends of the box,',as5shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4.

' In order to'l prevent ,the'cuttin or abrasion of the wood ,,b' the bend of t e wire at.

the outer end 0 each" of the openings formed in the e'nds'of the box, said openings are reinforced or armored at those points by means of eyelets or ferrules 10, driven into plication of the wire thereto, and, as a fort er recaution in this direction and to provide a port for the wire in each opening, nails ll-are driven into the end of the box from the bottom of the same so as to contact with the wire where it passes through the opening,-

these nails, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, being of diflerent lengths in order to distribute the strain over a larger area of the end of the box than if they were all of the same length, while at the same time lessening the extent of mutilation of the wood which wouldbe caused if all of the nails were as long as the longer nails which I have shown. Either the nails alone or the ferrules alone may be employed, although the useof both is prof erable.

The heads of the nails project below the bottom of the boxends and serve, in connection with metalshoes 12 applied to the bottom of the sides ofthe box, as a means of protecting the. sides and ends of the box from wear such as would otherwise be caused when the box was moved about over a floor or other support, especially if the latter was composed of brick, stone or cement.

The longitudinal partitions in the box are formed by a wire '13 which is laced back and forth through openings in the ends of the box and has its ends secured to the latter in any desired manner, this result beingattained, in the box shown in the drawing, by over-limping the ends of the wire, driving their bent ends into the wood of the box and securing the overlapping ends by means of a staple 14, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Metal eyelets 15 are provided at the outer ends of the openings which receive the wire 13 for the same purpose as the ferrules 10.

The wires 6 and 13 are interlaced with the ends of the box and properly secured to the latter before the insertion between said ends of the sides 3 and 4 of the box, the forcing apart of the of the sides thereby imparting to the wires 6 and 13 the required degree of tension, which ditional supends of the box for the insertionis maintained after the sides of the box have been secured in place.

The wire 16 constituting the cross partitions of the box is interlaced with openings i'p the sides of the box after the box frame as this wire are carried res ectively through the top and bottom loops and 18 of a central cross brace or strut 19, interposed be tween the sides of the box and serving to brace and stiffen the latter at a point intermediate of the ends of the same. In order to impart to the brace 19 the desired rigidit without undue increase in its weight it is composed of a strip of corrugated sheet metal, the corrugations having the further advantage of compelling a bottle inserted proved box are less liable to inja into a compartment on either side of the artition to assume and retain a vertical osition and preventing the bottom of the ottle from catching upon the loop 18 at the base of the partition, thereby inclining the bottle so that its mouth will not be roperl presented to its respective nozzle of the fil in machine. f h f h eo emngs ort erece tiono t ewire 16 are i' ovided with eyelets 20 and the ends of sai wire maybe secured in any ap ropriate way, referably by twisting t em together, as s own at 21 In Fig. 1, as" this method of connection provides for the imparting of the desired degree of tension to the wire.

Because-of the l' htness of the wire which I use and the simp ficity of its application to the box, the cost of the latter can be materially reduced as compared with a box in which single wires are used for each element of the bottom or partition structures of the box, the latter necessarily having to be much heavier than the wire I use and the application and securing of them to the sides and ends of the box also involving'greater expense, furthermore, the wires, constituting the bottom and cross partitions of my imfrom lows which they receive than heavierand less resilient wires would be, any of the tensioned wires constitutingan element of the bottom or partition in my improved box being free to yield when subjected to pressure but havinga constant tendency to rebeen completed, and the central runs of turn to its normal position as soon as the pressure is removed.

I claim 1. A bottle carr ing box having a wire extending back and forth through 0 enings in opposite ends of the box frame, an maintained under tension to constitute an 0 en bottom for the box by the sides of the ox introduced and secured between the said ends, the latter having nails driven thereinto and contacting with the wire at the openings.

2. A bottle-carryin box having a wire laced back and forth through opposite members of the box frame and maintained under tension to constitute an open bottom for the box, and nails driven into said box members and contacting with the wire, said nails being of difl'erent lengths.

3. A bottle-carr ing box having a wire laced back and fort between opposite members of the box frame and maintained under tension to form an open bottom for the box, and nails driven into the box members and contacting with the wire, said nails having heads projecting below the bottom of said members.

4.-A bottlecarrying box having a wire laced back and forth through 0 enings in opposite members of the box rame and maintained under tension to constitute an open bottom for the box, nails driven into said box members and contacting with the wire, said nails having heads pro ecting below the bottom of said members, and metallic shoes applied to the bottom of the other members of the box frame. 1 I r 5. A bottle-ca ing box having a partition structure wit wires passing from side to side of the box, and a horizontally corrugated transverse brace or strut interposed between the sides of the box and having its opposite ends looped around upper and lower wires of the partition structure.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my.

name to this specification, in the presence of two. subscribing witnesses.

AMOS L. FOREMAN.

Witnesses:

HAMILTON D. TURNER, KATE A. BEADLE. 

